This is it - we are officially in the deadest time of the gaming year. The week between Christmas and New Years (and the first couple of weeks after, if I'm being honest) are utterly barren in terms of gaming news. This is the time of year that makes game reviewers, who - like junkies - are accustomed to a steady diet of fresh games fed directly into their veins - twitch with withdrawal.
To help myself along this year, I've been going back and catching up on some of the year's best games that I missed for one reason or another. First up was Loop Hero, the addictive 8-bit roguelike from Devolver Digital and developer Four Quarters. In Randy's original review of Loop Hero on GN, he said this about the game's visuals: "I could post screenshots all day, and none of those screenshots would convey how excellent it feels to go around that loop again. Sure, each individual sprite looks okay. There’s a pixelated mountain. That’s a pixelated bandit. But again, screenshots of the loop itself didn’t talk me into trying Loop Hero. Screenshots didn’t convince me of its enthralling premise." So, I figured why not post a few videos? Maybe seeing the game in motion could help convey how great it is.
Of course, you have to listen to me read all of the game's dialogue, which is probably less than exciting. But the next video has me going on a pretty successful early run, until I get my Loop Hero ass handed to me by the game's first boss. It's perhaps a bit more interesting.
But I think that much like screenshots, simply watching someone playing Loop Hero can't really convey the sheer addictive fun of actually holding the mouse in your hand and making the decisions for yourself. I found myself having Loop Hero dreams last night, and as soon as I tap the "Publish" button on this story, I'm diving right back into Loop Hero again.
Loop Hero is now available on PC and Switch. If you were lucking enough to grab a copy for free on the Epic Games Store the other day, I highly recommend firing it up. If not, you can usually find the game on sale somewhere in the ten buck range. It is absolutely worth it.
